Ezenia! cuts workforce from 24 to 13

Published: March 10, 2011

It doesn't take a software engineer to figure out that Ezenia! Inc., the Nashua-based networking company, has fallen on some tough times. On Wednesday, it quietly announced in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it cut its workforce nearly in half, from 24 to 13 employees, as of March 4 "as the company continues to pursue a path to profitability."The same filing announced the resignation of John McMullen, also on March 4, effective immediately. McMullen, formerly from Harvard Business School, has some 25 years of experience as a financial analyst and was a member of the company's audit, nominating and compensation committee. His resignation "was not due to a disagreement with the company on any matter relating to the company's operations, polices or practices," according to the filing.Ezenia!, according to its last quarterly filing, posted a net loss of $2.2 million during the last nine months, compared to $2.76 million during the first three months in 2009. Revenue was down 24 percent during the first three quarters of the fiscal year. At the end of September, Ezenia's assets were down to $5.1 million, and it had about $3 million in cash.With current liabilities of $3.6 million, the company's stockholder equity was valued at $1.2 million, compared to equity of $2.7 million in September 2009.The company blamed its decline on the Defense Department, which is offering a competing product for free to defense contractors and is developing a nondefense-related product.Ezenia! has not yet submitted its filing for the fourth quarter yet. -- BOB SANDERS/NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW

This article appears in the February 25 2011 issue of New Hampshire Business Review